Wolf Amongst the Fallen Leaves
by AnimalKrazed
Summary: Six years have passed since a seven-year old Naruto's disappearence. Rumours have spread about what happened to him, all of them tying into the sudden appearance of the many wolves that now surround Konoha. Is he behind it, no-one knows. Read to find out.


**Wolf Amongst the Fallen Leaves**

Before I begin with this story I have I few things to say. Firstly that this is my second ever fan-fiction and I hope that you guys like it. Secondly, is that I don't like flames and will ignore them, but I do accept critics as they help writers understand what their reader's want.

Lastly is that I don't own Naruto, never have and probably never will. If I did Naruto would have confronted Hinata about her confession and no-one would be anxious to hear about what his response is to it.

Well, this is going to be my key guide, for now at least. More might be added on, if it is necessary. Hope you are all familiar with it:

"This is speech."

_'This is thought'_

_This is Flashback/Story Mode_

This is sarcasm

_This is Jutsu_

_**"This is the speech of a demon-host merger."**_

_**'This is thought from a demon, animal summon or Inner Persona.'**_

_**"This is speech from a demon, animal summon or Inner Persona."**_

Chapter Quote

"Though a man is pure at heart, and says his prayers at night, he may become a wolf, and the wolf bane blooms, when the Autumn moon is bright"-Van Helsing

**Chapter 1: Myths and Scares**

A small group of children, ranging from the ages twelve to thirteen, sit around a camp fire. They were camping out, to celebrate their entry into the Chunin exams (the Camp-Out was suggested by their sensei). Each one has told a tale, throughout the night, some were about princesses being rescued by dark-haired shinobi in armor (Sakura and Ino, if you didn't get the hint), one was a epoch of loss and sorrow (Sasuke), three were stories of good and happy times (Hinata, Yakumo, and Choji), one told a bug's fable (Shino), and one told a tale of a carefree life as a cloud (Shikamaru). The one remaining child stood up, to tell his own tale, one that he would swear was one of truth. Let's listen in on these eight pre-teens, now shall we?

"Guys, it's my turn to tell a campfire story now. Each of you has had your turn, now it's my turn, and I'm going to follow campfire tradition and tell a scary story," a fang-cheeked child shouted out, "this is going to be awesome!"

"Kiba, calm down and tell the story already. Shannaro! If it's such a good story, you should be able to remember all of it… you do remember all of it, right Kiba," Sakura asked, she didn't want to have listen to another story. She really just wanted to get the story done and over with so that she could go to sleep (and dream of a certain Uchiha).

"I do, I do, darn it! Just let me tell you guys what the hell it's about," Kiba exclaimed, "You guys ready?"

Everyone exclaimed "Yes, Kiba!" A few of them, mainly Sakura and Ino, added, "just tell the stupid story already!"

"Ok, ok, sheesh you two are as bossy as ever," Kiba stated, muttering out the last part, "It starts out like this."

_Not so long ago, no really it was just six or so years ago, there was a small blond child. He was small for his age; some say it was natural, while others say that it was a result of malnutrition. They say that the small child, Naruto was his name, was cursed from the day he was born, the day of the Kyuubi Attack. They say this because he had thin, black whiskers on his face; again some say they were natural, while others say it was a result of an attempted assassination gone wrong. _

_Now, Naruto was a virtual outcast, not one child would play with him. It was not their fault; their parents punished them harshly if they did. He was treated as one would a leper, with extreme caution and more than a little prejudice. He was given food as any other, though they made sure that it was close to the expiration date or of poor quality. He was a very lonely child; his only friends were the two that ran the Ichiraku Ramen shack and the Hokage. His sensei would beat him for the slightest misdemeanour, so he was a well-behaved child. Naruto often wished for something to change, but nothing ever did. If anything changed, it would be how vicious he was beaten; he was often blamed for what the Kyuubi did to the village. The closer October the Tenth came, the worse the mobs and the beatings._

_Despite the beatings and the mobs, Naruto was a fairly innocent soul. Some might even call him a pure soul; a soul that has never harmed another unless it is needed for survival. The circumstances behind Naruto's being a pure soul are pitiful, if one were to take a closer look. After all, it is hard to harm another soul if you are never given a chance to do so. Not many become pure souls, not even those who die of an accident when they are two or three, let alone six or seven (like Naruto was)._

_On Naruto's seventh birthday everything changed, forever. He was chased long and hard that night; they beat him in the shadows of the night to avoid the Hokage's eye. They beat him hard and long, for no child can out run an adult, they spat on him, kicked him, and when they were done threw him into a ditch. No-one considered what would happen to their little punching bag; all they knew was that Naruto healed at an extraordinarily quick. They expected him to come back the next day, begging for attention as he always did. He never showed up again._

_No-one knows what happened that night; all they know is that ever since that night, wolves have come out of the woodwork. Every night, they will howl for hours on end. There is always one specific howl that starts and ends the howling, its tone like that of a crisp winter's night before a major blizzard from the Land of Snow mixed with the power & viciousness of a monsoon from the Land of Waves. No-one knows why they came the night Naruto disappeared, or why they howl all night, every night. All they know is that they are connected somehow. _

Every one of the children got shivers done their spines at the mention of the howling. The howling that had started seemingly at random somewhere around their sixth or seventh year of life. The mention of that howling made the story more real as this really happened. They had all heard the adults mention a possible cause, but really no one knew what had started it. When it had first started people where afraid to go into the woods, as if they were scared of something. Each child made a mental note, to ask their parents if Naruto had existed, and to ask for the truth. If they said no, they would double and triple check by asking both the Hokage, if they could get to him, and the Ichiraku Ramen stand owners.

_Anyways, the night Naruto disappeared and the wolves' appearance have sprouted several rumours. One such rumour goes that the wolves found Naruto in the ditch that night, as they went about hunting for prey. The moment they found him, they sprang upon him and devoured him. Each wolf got the curse that Naruto had. Each one would gain his memories and soul imprinted into them. They grew to stand five feet tall at their shoulders and ten feet long from tail to snout. From that night, they ruled the packs of Konoha's forests, not even the Inuzuka dogs stood against them. With the memories and souls fragments of Naruto dwelling inside of them, alongside his curse, they plot Konoha's fall to this day._

_Another such rumour, goes that Naruto was, again, found by the wolves. This time, they do not devour him, no; they tried to care for him and return him to health. They were too late, however, as he had passed away in the time between being tossed into the ditch and being found by the wolves. His spirit, living on this plane of existence only as a result of his curse, was thankful to the wolves that had shown him the kindness that humanity refused him. In his thankfulness Naruto shed his human skin, as his curse allowed him to do so, and took on the appearance of the wolf. He learned to speak with them on their terms, something not even the Inuzuka can do. He united the fragmented packs around Konoha, in his gratitude to them. The wolves, seeing his intelligence, raised Naruto and taught him their ways, allowing him to rise into alpha-hood. He leads those packs to this day, frightening both adult and child, in turn for what the adults did to him those years ago. _

_A third rumour goes that the wolves found Naruto, barely clinging to life as it was. It is said that the wolves took him to a Kami that lives deep within the old woods of Konoha, the trees that lived here even before the Shodai Hokage created the forests that engulf Konoha. The Kami saw the life that Naruto had lived here in Konoha, and decided to put Naruto out of his misery. It looked further into Naruto's soul and decided that Naruto (who was a being pure of soul, body, and mind) deserved a new life. It formed him a lupine body from the wood of the tree it lived in, blessed by having a Kami live in it, coated the body in mud from the tree's base, to represent blood, sweat, tears, & saliva, and sprinkled the carved body with leaves from it's tree, so that the Kami could help the pure soul whenever he had the need. It then put Naruto into the wooden body. The moment that Naruto's soul was placed into the lupine body, it started to morph and change. Skin started to stretch over the doll's body, reddish-blonde fur sprouting from it. Claws soon followed on the paws, alongside rough pads for him. A nose, eyes and mouth soon followed, allowing Naruto to see from new eyes, just as oceanic-blue as his human ones. The Kami, seeing it's work done, went back into the tree to go back to sleep. Before it did so, however, it gifted Naruto even more, giving him the ability to shift back into his human form if he ever needed to, a half wolf, half man form to terrorize his foes, and the ability to speak to his new kinsmen. It also told him that in the price for his shape-shifting abilities of the colour of his eyes, they would turn into a greenish-gold whenever he shifted. It would only be in his human form that the oceanic-blue hue would shine from those orbs. Approving with his new form and agreeing with the Kami about the cost for his abilities; Naruto bid the Kami farewell, and joined the pack that saved him. Finding comfort and love there in the pack, he turned his back to humanity for a time. Learning the ways of the wolf; he learned that was the last thing he should do, as one only should turn his back to the dead foe or trusted ally. Learning this, he turned around to humanity and bared his fangs; as one would to their mortal foe. He now runs with his pack as a beta, a second-in-command; howling to his comrades every night to thank them eternally for all they have given him, and to remind man with his song that he is ever watching._

_*****__**HOOOOOOWWWWWLLL!**__*****_

A howl, one with the power & viciousness of a monsoon from the Land of Waves and a tone akin to that of a winter's night before a major blizzard in the Land of Snow, shook the camp-site. Each child, silently cursing Kiba for his story-telling skills, ran for their tents. Silently praying that Naruto, or whatever the origin of the howling and the wolves was, wouldn't start to prey upon children that night; they all went to sleep. Kiba was the last one to fall asleep, not noticing that Akamaru, his loyal Inuzuka pup, was shaking in fright of something that had crawled out into the clearing.

Amused, oceanic-blue orbs of reflective light watched the shaking form of the pup from their spot in the middle of the clearing, before turning around and going back into the brush. If only one of the children were up; they would have heard a light huffing, as if a canine were laughing.

_Well that is done. This is the first chapter of a story I will update sporatically. I will be updating Naruto of the Swarm soon; so don't worry, I did not abandon it. Anyway, tell me what you think of it. Really I don't bite (Naruto might, however) so Review to your hearts desire._ _**Remember to R&R**_


End file.
